Onni Group Signs Law Firm Locke Lord to The Bell in Chicago

Onni Group scored another big tenant with its massive investment in a Loop office building known as The Bell.

Locke Lord leased 65,000 square feet in the building, at 225 West Randolph Street, according to Stream Realty Partners. The law firm will exit 111 South Wacker, where it has been rumored to be leaving since March. Stream Realty Partners’ Brian Duffy, Jordan Decker and Tripp Pruet represented Locke Lord in the deal. Telos Group represents The Bell.

The Bell is undergoing a $130 million renovation — part of its deal for historic-landmark tax breaks — and is serving as a bright spot in the Loop as more tenants take notice and ink leases with its Canada-based landlord.

Onni’s other recent leases in the 853,000-square-foot building include law firm Neal Gerber & Eisenberg, recruiting firm Addison Group and accounting firm BDO.

But the moves have been somewhat of a wash for the overall office market as many of tenants have relocated from one Loop building to another. Such moves are part of the reason Chicago’s office vacancy rate has remained stubbornly high.

The vacancy rate in downtown Chicago held steady at 25.8 percent in the third quarter, up from 23.7 percent a year ago and a significant jump from the 13.8 percent at the start of the pandemic, according to CBRE.

The company bought The Bell from Kushner Companies for about $188 million, or $220 per square foot, in 2020. The sale was a loss for Kushner which had paid $276 million for the 32-story building in 2007. It was built in 1966, originally named the Illinois Bell Building, and designed by the Chicago architecture firm Holabird & Root.

As part of the sale to Onni, the city designated the property a landmark so the developer could obtain a Class L tax status. That gives owners significant property tax breaks for 12 years if they invest at least half of the value of a landmark in a city-approved rehab project.

CORRECTION: The location of Locke Lorde’s office address was misstated in a previous version of this story. It is 111 South Wacker.